Quatre's Choice
by Aereana
Summary: Um.. I suck at titles, and there's one fight scene... nothing overly graphic. Its a sort of 'prequel' to "Goodbye Quatre...". Character death. Um.. I think thats it. Oh yeah.. non-yaoi. >:)


Disclaimer: I dont own Gundam Wing, of course. I only own my own enthusiasm that makes me write about it.  
  
Author's note: I am terribly inexperienced at writing any fight scenes, and the means this fic was pretty much screwed from the beginning, but its ok with me if you read it anyway.   
  
Reviews are welcomed, comments adored, praise is gratified, and flames will be used to feed the dragon that lives under my bed. Now, on to the story!  
  
Quatre's Choice  
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Far off, miles and miles from the earth or the colonies, there was a war raging deep within space. It was wild, crazy, active-just like any other battle the gundam pilots fought, but this one was different... This one, this fight, and the lives that were lost here today, would decide the outcome of the long wars that had erupted.  
  
The enemy was using the tactic of divide and conquer. Already, Duo and Heero were sectioned off by the enemy's mobile suits. They were fighting valiently, yet there were just too many. Sandrock and Heavyarms were back to back, and Wufei had his own skirmishes to handle. Even the suits of the pilots's allies seemed to be causing more harm than good. They kept getting in the way of the pilots. Duo and Heero were giving it their all to get back to the others, but it was no good. Deathscythe, sadly, was taking critical damage.  
  
Quatre guided his weapons with deadly efficiency, each of his targets exploding in balls of light and flame. But even that didnt last, as the oxygen was burned up in mere seconds, leaving a twisted, broken wreckage in the gundam's wake.  
  
Each of the mobile suits that Quatre shot down, each of the lives that he took in the name of peace, hit home like a stake driven straight to his heart. Tears were threatening at the edge of his vision, but he wouldnt cry. It would blur his vision, endanger his senses. No, there would be time for crying later.  
  
He hoped.  
  
Duo worked frantically at his controls. He cursed. He was in bad shape. He opened a link to all of his allies.  
  
"Heavy damage! I---AHHHH!" He cut off as an enemy suit nearly sliced through his gundam's arm. "There's *static* ...hull leak... *static* ......losing pressure... oxygen...*static* ...need cover!"  
  
"Hold on Duo!" Quatre cut through the fighting like a madman to get to his friend, rampaging through the enemy units like a wildfire in a drygrass feild. The unexpected swath cut through the lines turned the attention of dozens of hostile troops on Sandrock's trail. That was when Quatre saw his chance.. his friends would be free, and alive. Yes, they would live on. Like Duo, Quatre opened a link to all allies listening. Dorothy looked up to her com screen as the Arabian's voice came upon the screen.   
  
"Move out! I have a plan! I will get rid of the troops on me, have no worry on that. Just act on my signal!" One by one, the pilots and the others nodded, trusting the peaceful pilot's judgement. He always seemed to be one of the more levelheaded ones..  
  
Each unit moved to a safe distance away.. so they thought. Except for Dorothy. She moved her suit (Blah, she pilots a suit in my story, I dunno if she actually ever does in the series..) and stayed near Quatre. Suddenly, his face appeared on her screen once more.  
  
"Didnt you hear me?! MOVE OUT! Go to safety!"  
  
Dorothy shook her head.. "No Quatre, I want to help!" She gazed at Quatre's blonde hair, as he tapped swiftly at his controls. Then he looked up again in irritation.  
  
"Move! Thats an order, soldier!" He couldnt hide the sadness in his eyes as Dorothy reluctantly complied. He just didnt want anyone else to be hurt.. well, no one more than concievably possible.  
  
Dorothy moved her suit away from battle grounds, as the enemies began to get a clue. The fact that they were virtually alone on the battlefield with only one gundum was a real wake up call. Quatre raised the small, slender controller that held only a small red button on the end. While he still had time, while the enemy suits were still clustered around him, he closed his eyes. A smile of peace crossed his face, but that was offset drastically by the twinge of sadness and rivers of tears flowing as he pressed Sandrock's self destruct button.  
  
"Goodbye... my friends." These were the last words of the late Quatre Rababa Winner, as his world was torn apart by pain and fire. His skin burned, his lungs collapsed, and in the vacuum of space, he gave a small sigh as his spirit was released.  
  
Then all was darkness.  
------------------------  
Dorothy had followed orders. Thats what she had to do, no matter if she agreed or not.  
  
Then she heard the most heartrending sound... The sorrow in Quatre's voice as his last words-words of farewell-were whispered. Looking up wildly in alarm, she saw light beginning to emenate from the gundam Sandrock. The light expanded, followed by roiling energy that engulfed the gundam.  
  
"Quatre! No! No....." Dorothy's agonized screams faded into a hoarse moaning. There was nothing she could do now.  
  
Nothing...  
------------------------  
Just as Quatre had thought, the explosion of his gundam was enough to wipe out many of the enemy troops. The rest of the battle was a route, and afterward the remaining suits and gundams limped back to base.  
  
Duo sobbed incoherently, and Trowa's crying were nearly as violent. Wufei let silent trails of sorrowful tears fall down his own cheeks. Even Heero's eyes were suspisciously bright. But no, the 'Perfect Soldier' could never cry. He was trained too well.  
  
Hilde and Relena cradled poor Dorothy, who seemed to have lost it altogether. The blonde girl's hands were hiding her face as she collapsed to her knees on the floor. All she could do was moan Quatre's name over and over.  
  
Noin stood by, her eyes closed, even as droplets stained her uniform.   
  
Today was a victory, yes. But it was tainted with blood. Blood and sorrow.  
-------------------------  
Later, after the shock of the war-and the deaths of so many-it was formally announced that it was over. Finally, after so long, it was done.  
  
And Quatre wasnt even here to see it.  
  
Dorothy filed through her computer in her quarters, getting everything in order to take with her to Relena's. Relena and Hilde were going to stay with her for a while. She was partly glad, party dreading the company. But she was too polite to turn them down. Soon, after discarding file after file, she came upon something. It was labeled "Dorothy". That was it. Curious, she opened it. It was a video file, one of Quatre. He was facing the screen, and talking. This is what she heard him say to her.  
  
"Hello Dorothy. If you are reading this.. most likely I am not here anymore. I'm sorry... so sorry."  
  
The girl's tears started flowing anew, at the sight of his lovetorn face. The video continued.  
  
"I just want you to know.. I would never want to leave you willingly. I never wanted to die. I care so much about you.. it-it hurts. I-I want you to do something for me. Tell everyone it wasnt their fault. Tell my sisters that I love them... but most of all, Dorothy. Most of all... live. Do it for me. Even though I couldnt... I just want to know that you will live on. For me. For you. For us both."  
  
Here, Quatre lifted a hand, pressing it to the screen. And then the transmission ended.. but there was something else that came on a few moments when it was over. This was staticy, almost garbled, and Dorothy realized, the inside of Quatre's gundam. During his last fateful fight. There were only a few seconds of film, but those few seconds made the world fall out from beneath Dorothy's feet.  
  
Quatre was looking earnestly into the screen, while explosions rocked the cockpit of his gundam.  
  
"Dorothy... *static garbled the screen* ...hope this gets through... *static once more* ...have to tell you that... *static* ...love.. *static* ...."  
  
The transmission faded to black. Dorothy sat there in her room for a long time. The lights dimmed automatically as night came, but still she sat. Even when Hilde came in to see if she was alright, she sat still, not aknowledging the German girl.  
  
Two hours after receiving the message from Quatre, Dorothy went to bed. She stared up at the darkness that encompassed her, filled her, and even seemed to swallow her... and to that darkness, she whispered.. "I love you too, Quatre..."  
**************************************************  
  
Ok, ok, I know I totally suck when it comes to fight scenes, and that one did royally stink.. But I do emotion, not violence, so there! :)  
  
Anyhow, I'm thinking about either writing about Quatre's funeral or a songfic about Duo/Hilde... Any input? Ideas?  
  
-Aereana 


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